Transport Ring for Plastic Container Lids

ABSTRACT

A transportation ring affixed to a plastic paint can for the purpose of retaining the lid on the plastic paint can during transportation. The transportation ring snaps downward over the can rim and extends inwardly over the edge of the lid. The transportation ring additionally includes an alignment ridge for cooperation with the bottom of the plastic paint can to facilitate stacking both during shipment and in-store stocking. The ring is preferably fabricated from a rigid plastic material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to containers and more particularly to transportation rings of the type used to retain the lid on a can containing essentially hazardous and dangerous materials during shipping.

A transportation ring is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,705. This ring extends downwardly into the plug recess. A removable retaining device for cans is also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,003. This device also extends into the U-shaped plug or lid recess. A reclosable vacuum container has the lid captured in a peripheral sealing cavity as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,330.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,554 shows a lid retaining collar which also has a portion which extends into the U-shaped plug or lid recess.

While the prior art devices extend into the U-shaped plug recess and onto the plug cover portion to operate adequately, the Applicant discovered it was not necessary to have these extensions to hold a lid or plug on a can to pass the applicable United Nations can testing requirements. U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,557 filed by the Applicant discloses such a transportation ring suitable for metal containers.

A new plastic container is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,348 for “Plastic Paint Can.” While the transportation ring of the '557 patent works well for metal containers, it does not engage the top edge of the new plastic paint can. Further, the plastic paint cans are designed to facilitate stacking, and the transportation ring of the '557 patent does not include such features. The '557 and '348 patents are incorporated in their entirety herein by reference.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the above and other needs by providing a transportation ring affixed to a plastic paint can for the purpose of retaining the lid on the plastic paint can during transportation. The transportation ring snaps downward over the can rim and extends inwardly over the edge of the lid. The transportation ring includes an alignment ridge for cooperation with the bottom of the plastic paint can to facilitate stacking. The ring is preferably fabricated from a rigid plastic material.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a round transportation ring affixed to a plastic paint can. The plastic paint can includes a cylindrical can body, a round can bottom attached to the can body, round can rim attached to the can body, and a round lid. The round can rim is attached to the can body opposite to the can bottom and including a lid sealing ridge and an outer peripheral edge extending radially out beyond the can body. The round lid is removably attached to the can rim and includes a planar center portion for enclosing the contents of the plastic paint can and an outer channel portion for sealing with the lid sealing ridge. The round transportation ring is mounted to the plastic paint can and includes a lid retaining collar, a cylindrical outer ring portion, and a securing ridge. The lid retaining collar reaches inward over the outer channel portion of the lid for retaining the lid on the plastic paint can. The cylindrical outer ring portion reaches down over the can rim. The securing ridge is on an inside inner surface of the cylindrical outer ring portion residing below the outer peripheral edge of the can rim and has an inside diameter smaller than an outside of the outer peripheral edge thereby resisting removal of the transportation ring from the plastic paint can. The securing ridge includes a lower beveled portion at an angle A1 for sliding over a rim edge of the plastic paint can, a center cylindrical portion, and an upper beveled portion at an angle A2 for retaining the transportation ring on the plastic paint can where the angle A1 is smaller than the angle A2. The lower beveled portion is preferably at an angle A1 between 30 degrees and 50 degrees from the vertical and the upper beveled portion is preferably at an angle A2 between 50 degrees and 70 degrees from the vertical for retaining the transportation ring on the plastic paint can.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a plastic paint can.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a lid used to seal the plastic paint can.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the plastic paint can with a transportation ring according to the present invention retaining the paint can lid for shipping.

FIG. 2 a is a perspective view of the transportation ring according to the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a top view of the transportation ring according to the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a bottom view of the transportation ring according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the transportation ring according to the present invention taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged and dimensioned cross-sectional view of the transportation ring according to the present invention taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 6 is a detailed cross-sectional view of a detail 6 of FIG. 5 of the transportation ring according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a detailed cross-sectional view of a detail 7 of FIG. 6 of the transportation ring according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of stacked plastic paint cans showing an alignment ridge of the transportation ring according to the present invention.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description is of the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing one or more preferred embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims.

A perspective view of a plastic paint can 10 is shown in FIG. 1 and a perspective view of a lid 12 used to seal the plastic paint can 10 is shown in FIG. 1A. Such plastic paint can 10 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,348 for “Plastic Paint Can” incorporated by reference above. While the plastic lid 12 provides a good seal for general use, the lid 12 is not sufficiently strong to meet United Nations requirements to allow shipment with some modes of shipping.

A perspective view of the plastic paint can 10 with a transportation ring 14 according to the present invention retaining the paint can lid 12 for shipping is shown in FIG. 2 and a perspective view of the transportation ring alone is shown in FIG. 2A. The top edge of the paint can 10 includes a laterally protruding rim edge 24 a (see FIG. 8) and the transportation ring 14 engages the rim edge 24 a to hold the transportation ring 14 on the plastic paint can 10. The transportation ring 14 further includes a lid retaining collar 18 (see FIG. 4) reaching laterally inward over the lid 12 to retain the lid 12 during shipping.

A top view of the transportation ring 14 is shown in FIG. 3A, a bottom view of the transportation ring 14 is shown in FIG. 3B, and a cross-sectional view of the transportation ring 14 taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3A is shown in FIG. 4. The transportation ring 14 includes a lid retaining collar 18 reaching laterally inward over the lid 12 to retain the lid 12 during shipping and an alignment ridge 16 for engaging a bottom groove 22 a (see FIG. 8) on the bottom of known plastic paint cans 10, the bottom groove 22 a concentric with and proximal to the outer edge of the can bottom 22, to facilitate stacking the plastic paint cans. The lid retaining collar 18 further provides a surface for embossing, for example, product name, manufacturer, phone number, and the like. The transportation ring 14 further includes a securing ridge 20 on a lower inner surface of the transportation ring for engaging the rim 24 (see FIG. 8) of the plastic paint can 10.

An enlarged and dimensioned cross-sectional view of the transportation ring 14 taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3A is shown in FIG. 5. The transportation ring 14 has a cylindrical outer ring portion 14 a having an outside diameter D1, an outer ring inside diameter D1, an alignment ridge 16 outer diameter D3 and inner diameter D4, a lid retaining collar 18 inside diameter D5, and a securing ridge 20 inside diameter D6. The diameter D1 is preferably approximately 6.986 inches. The diameter D2 is preferably approximately 6.786 inches. The diameter D3 is preferably approximately 6.600 inches. The diameter D4 is preferably approximately 6.450 inches. The diameter D5 is preferably approximately 5.716 inches. And the diameter D6 is preferably approximately 6.706 inches. These dimensions are based on the dimensions of a standard plastic paint can.

A detailed cross-sectional view a detail 6 of FIG. 5 of the transportation ring 14 is shown in FIG. 6 and a detailed cross-sectional view a detail 7 of FIG. 6 of the transportation ring is shown in FIG. 7. The alignment ridge has a width W1 and a height H1. The lid retaining collar 18 has a height H2. The transportation ring 14 has an overall height H3. The securing ridge 20 has an upper beveled portion 20 a with a height H4 and at an angle A1 from vertical, a vertical center portion 20 b with a height H6, and a lower bevel portion 20 c with a height H6 and at an angle A2 from vertical. The securing ridge 20 further reaches inward a distance W3 and is approximately a height H7 below the bottom surface of the lid retaining collar 18. The dimensions of the securing ridge 20 are important because the angle A1 must be sufficiently small to allow the ridge to pass over the rim edge 24 a (see FIG. 8) without high force which may damage the paint can, and the angle A2 must be large to retain the transportation ring 14 on the paint can while allowing removal without damaging the paint can. As a result of experimentation, non-symmetric angles A1 and A2 with A1 less than A2 were found to be required to meet design requirements.

The height H4 is preferably between 0.020 inches and 0.040 inches, and is more preferably between 0.025 inches and 0.035 inches, and is most preferably approximately 0.030 inches, the height H5 is preferably between 0.029 inches and 0.049 inches, and is more preferably between 0.034 inches and 0.044 inches, and is most preferably approximately 0.039 inches, and the height H6 is preferably between 0.067 inches and 0.087 inches, and is more preferably between 0.072 inches and 0.082 inches, and is most preferably approximately 0.077 inches. The angle A1 is preferably between 30 degrees and 50 degrees and is more preferably between 35 degrees and 45 degrees and is most preferably approximately 40 degrees and the angle A2 is preferably between 50 degrees and 70 degrees and is more preferably between 55 degrees and 65 degrees and is most preferably approximately 60 degrees. The width W3 is preferably between 0.030 inches and 0.050 inches, and is more preferably between 0.035 inches and 0.045 inches, and is most preferably approximately 0.040 inches and the height H7 is preferably between 0.390 inches and 0.410 inches, and is more preferably between 0.395 inches and 0.405 inches, and is most preferably approximately 0.400 inches.

A cross-sectional view of stacked plastic paint cans 10 a and 10 b showing the alignment ridge 16 of the transportation ring 14 according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 8. The plastic paint can 10 includes a cylindrical body 26, bottom 22 at the base of the body 26, and a rim 24 opposite the bottom. The rim 24 includes the rim edge 24 a and a lid sealing ridge 24 b. The lid 12 further includes a center planar portion 12 a for enclosing the contents of the plastic paint can 10 and an outer channel portion 12 b for sealing to the rim 24. The alignment ridge 16 cooperates with the bottom groove 22 a of the bottom 22 to facilitate stacking the cans 10 a and 10 b. The cooperation of the securing ridge 20 of the transportation ring 14 and rim 24 of the plastic paint cans 10 is shown.

The transportation ring 14 is preferably made from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE).

While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims. 

I claim:
 1. A transportation ring affixed to a container comprising: a plastic paint can comprising: a cylindrical can body; a round can bottom attached to the can body; a round can rim attached to the can body opposite to the can bottom and including a lid sealing ridge and an outer peripheral edge extending radially out beyond the can body; and a round lid removably attached to the can rim and including a planar center portion for enclosing the contents of the plastic paint can and an outer channel portion for sealing with the lid sealing ridge; a round transportation ring mounted to the plastic paint can and comprising: a lid retaining collar reaching inward over the outer channel portion of the lid for retaining the lid on the plastic paint can; a cylindrical outer ring portion reaching down over the can rim; and a securing ridge on an inside inner surface of the cylindrical outer ring portion residing below the outer peripheral edge of the can rim and having an inside diameter smaller than an outside of the outer peripheral edge thereby resisting removal of the transportation ring from the plastic paint can.
 2. The transportation ring affixed to a container of claim 1, wherein the transportation ring is substantially thicker than the can body of the plastic paint can.
 3. The transportation ring affixed to a container of claim 1, wherein: the can bottom includes a bottom groove concentric with and proximal to an outer edge of the can bottom; the transportation ring further includes an upward extending alignment ridge concentric with and proximal to an outer edge of the transportation ring and having approximately the same diameter as the bottom groove and having a width less than the width of the bottom groove; and the cooperation of the bottom groove with the alignment ridge facilitates vertically stacking more than one of the plastic paint cans.
 4. The transportation ring affixed to a container of claim 1, wherein securing ridge includes: a lower beveled portion for sliding over a rim edge of the plastic paint can; a center cylindrical portion; and an upper beveled portion for retaining the transportation ring on the plastic paint can.
 5. The transportation ring affixed to a container of claim 4, wherein the lower bevel portion is at an angle A1 from the vertical and the upper bevel portion is at an angle A2 from the vertical and the angle A1 is less than the Angle A2.
 6. The transportation ring affixed to a container of claim 5, wherein the angle A1 is between 30 degrees and 50 degrees from the vertical and the angle A2 is between 50 degrees and 70 degrees from the vertical.
 7. The transportation ring affixed to a container of claim 1, wherein the lid retaining collar has a flat bottom surface.
 8. The transportation ring affixed to a container of claim 1, wherein the lid retaining collar has a flat top surface allowing embossing.
 9. A transportation ring affixed to a container comprising: a plastic paint can comprising: a cylindrical can body; a round can bottom attached to the can body; a round can rim attached to the can body opposite to the can bottom and including a lid sealing ridge and an outer peripheral edge extending radially out beyond the can body; and a round lid removably attached to the can rim and including a planar center portion for enclosing the contents of the plastic paint can and an outer channel portion for sealing with the lid sealing ridge; a round transportation ring mounted to the plastic paint can and comprising: a lid retaining collar reaching inward over the outer channel portion of the lid for retaining the lid on the plastic paint can; a cylindrical outer ring portion reaching down over the can rim; and a securing ridge on an inside inner surface of the cylindrical outer ring portion residing below the outer peripheral edge of the can rim and having an inside diameter smaller than an outside of the outer peripheral edge thereby resisting removal of the transportation ring from the plastic paint can, the securing ridge comprising: a lower beveled portion at an angle A1 from the vertical for sliding over a rim edge of the plastic paint can; a center cylindrical portion; and an upper beveled portion at an angle A2 from the vertical for retaining the transportation ring on the plastic paint can, wherein the angle A1 is less than the angle A2.
 10. A transportation ring affixed to a container comprising: a plastic paint can comprising: a cylindrical can body; a round can bottom attached to the can body; a round can rim attached to the can body opposite to the can bottom and including a lid sealing ridge and an outer peripheral edge extending radially out beyond the can body; and a round lid removably attached to the can rim and including a planar center portion for enclosing the contents of the plastic paint can and an outer channel portion for sealing with the lid sealing ridge; a round transportation ring mounted to the plastic paint can and comprising: a lid retaining collar reaching inward over the outer channel portion of the lid for retaining the lid on the plastic paint can; a cylindrical outer ring portion reaching down over the can rim; and a securing ridge on an inside inner surface of the cylindrical outer ring portion residing below the outer peripheral edge of the can rim and having an inside diameter smaller than an outside of the outer peripheral edge thereby resisting removal of the transportation ring from the plastic paint can, the securing ridge comprising: a lower beveled portion at an angle A1 between 30 degrees and 50 degrees from the vertical for sliding over a rim edge of the plastic paint can; a center cylindrical portion; and an upper beveled portion at an angle A2 between 50 degrees and 70 degrees from the vertical for retaining the transportation ring on the plastic paint can. 